Honey No. 54

Feat. home decor tweaks I can't stop looking at

As you probably know by now, scooching things around in my house is my happy place (scooching looks so wrong, but it’s not “scootching?” idk it’s all bad I think, but scooching itself is GOOD). When I am overwhelmed by the frequent urge to redo-my-home-and-redo-my-life, sometimes it’s just a little hint that I need the dopamine hit of looking at something New, which can also mean a New Combination of Things I Already Own. This is doubly satisfying because it is a. creatively fulfilling and b. free, which is extra important as we all save up for our monthly ration of eggs.

Here is a non-comprehensive list of things I have recently zhuzhed:

First up- the desk in our office! And listen, I should have taken “before” pictures, but I didn’t know I was having you over! Forgive me. We got the pot the monstera is in (a cutting from a bigger plant!!) for free from a half-hearted yard sale, and the color itself isn’t my *favorite*, but plopped on top of an orange book the color combination brightens up a desk that was otherwise giving me “eh.” I also like how the bright colors are talking to the brand new banana candle my friend Bethany got me for my birthday- no word from Jesse yet on whether or not he finds it, um, distracting, so I’m leaving it for now 😎.

We finally, finally, got this vintage print from my mom’s house framed! And by “got it framed” I mean I looked on facebook marketplace and etsy for one hundred years, couldn’t find anything big enough that I liked, looked into getting framed professionally, saw it would be very expensive, then finally found a perfectly fine frame at Blick for like $40 along with a big mat for $14 that we could cut down to size, and boom! There’s art on the wall thank literal christ.

Et voila, the newly-cute-looking corner of the office! Who knows if this is where things will live more permanently, but it’s making me happy for now. The suitcase on top of the bookshelf was given to me by my mom’s best friend when I was a TODDLER, and when my little brother was born I immediately packed it so that I could run away 🥲. It’s always lived in a closet at my mom’s house, but Jesse and I brought it back from New York last year so that it could someday be on display at our place. I love getting to see it on top of the bookshelf! Anything can be art!!!

Speaking of- I always love looking at these candle holders that I got at an antique mall in Asheville, NC, but seeing them paired with these orangey-cinnamon candlesticks is VA VA VOOM to me I can’t get enough! My favorite design feeling is when I’ve arranged something that appeals to me so much that I keep going over to look at it, and this color combination is simply it. Both the candles and the holders were already in my house! But the pairing makes me feel alive.

This vignette is temporary while we fix up this cabinet so don’t get attached, but here is another blue/red combo I love: a light icy blue with a deep oxblood red. Absolutely scrumptious to moi, and it makes me so much happier to look at than, say, white candlesticks. You know what I mean?? Maximizing effect with very little effort!

Another blue and red pairing, I’m starting to sense a theme? My mom’s friend painted these beautiful tomatoes and I’d been dragging my feet about framing them because it is, perhaps, the most annoying task in the world? And also something I’d hate to get “wrong”! I was inspired by a woman I follow, Delaney, to try a colorful mat and I am absolutely IN LOVE with the result! I uploaded the painting to Framebridge so I could see how it would look with different colored frames and mats (such a helpful resource!), got a gold frame from Crate and Barrel and a blue mat from an Etsy store that Delaney recommended, Mat Board Shop, and now I just enjoy this little beauty in our kitchen! Impossible to get a picture without a glare but again, I just didn’t know you were stopping by. The plaid curtain in the background, as I may have told you, was fabric we found from a Lithuanian seller on Etsy that our friend Jacob then hemmed for us. It makes me happy every day!

And finally- this is giving Winnie The Pooh but at least it ignites the senses. I got this bowl for $10 from an antique store called Divine’s, and collected the lemons for free from a box in someone’s yard (I do love LA). You could so easily tuck them away or put them in a simple, blah blah bowl, but I looove using fruit and foliage as decor- another simple way to use what you already have to upgrade your space- and again, sometimes it’s the color combination that brings the space to life!

Happy zhuzhing ✨

Hope you have a wonderful weekend, whether football is important to you or not! If you’re in LA and around, I’d love to see you at my variety show Quality Time tomorrow night at The Lyric Hyperion at 7:15! Get your tickets today and save a buck :)

xx Olivia